


Come Through the Dark

by AWritingRaven



Category: Crimson Peak (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Character Death Fix, F/M, Falling In Love, Fix-It, Friendship/Love, Hurt/Comfort, Personal Growth
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2020-11-12
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:48:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27115646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AWritingRaven/pseuds/AWritingRaven
Summary: Thomas finally made a choice, but this time he's given another opportunity. But remember, sometimes ghosts aren't just metaphors.
Relationships: Edith Cushing/Thomas Sharpe
Kudos: 20





	1. Can't you see? All of the change in me?

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't written in a while, but my love for Crimson Peak was rekindled and I honestly thought Thomas and Edith deserved so much better. 
> 
> Anyways I have no idea how long this will end up, but I'm going to do my best to keep this going. Comments are always appreciated.

Change is a funny thing. When one comes to the point of great change, they have two choices: To embrace it and keep your eyes open. Or, one can close their eyes and simply refuse to allow it the opportunity to change their life. Thomas had always done the latter, but the time had come where he wished to choose the former. He only hoped that there was still time and that fate was perhaps made based on one’s choices, after all.

  
Flashes of memory made their presence known with every step he took toward Lucille’s quarters. Many of those memories had to do with the many times he trekked the same path, eyes closed to all that happened around him, as he always had. As he learned to do, as a child to survive. What he and his sister participated in that allowed for them to feel some scruple of affection and safety. These things made him feel sick, like a monster had taken residence in his skin. Things he continued to do, even when he realized they were wrong, because by then she had full control and it was all he had ever known.

  
He remembered when he gave up. It was after he returned from boarding school and had Lucille released into his custody. She had gotten worse, he remembered noticing, and it was then that he realized nothing would ever change and he would be stuck in these circumstances for the remainder of his days, that nothing would ever change and there would never be anything for him beyond the parasitic relationship between his sister and him and the decaying walls of Allerdale Hall.

  
Truly he resigned himself to a life of hell, accepting it as the price for his many sins, many of which there was no forgiveness for. He had grown accustomed to the idea of remaining trapped and compliant. What else could he do? So, he simply continued to close his eyes, whether literally or metaphorically.

  
And then a small sliver of light pierced the dark clouds that hung about him. A small light that had unexpectedly appeared behind small spectacles and delighting in the tales of a ghost. Surrounded by the dark and twisted beauty that came in the shape of the moths that made their home in the Hall to Lucille’s own form, Thomas was very unaccustomed to the light that Edith carried around her. It felt most like soft rays of sun that peeked through the clouds to warm the Earth as it shook off winter. A feeling he longed for all of his life. He suspected it was then that something began to shift inside him, and as he listened to her speak of the choices her characters made, he couldn’t help but to hope that maybe he had choices too. Thomas repeated the sentiment to himself over and over, as Edith said “Choices matter.” She was right and he was going to begin making his own with his decision to put an end to Lucille’s madness.  
An uneasy feeling struck him hard as he swung open the door to Lucille’s room. The feeling grew to an edginess that stuck with him as he looked around for Lucille, but did not immediately spot her. What he did spot, however, were the papers signing over Edith’s fortune to the Sharpe’s. Thomas felt a faint hope try to push into his anxiety as he scooped up the papers and threw them into the fire. The hope dissipated as he spotted the golden coil of Edith’s hair in his peripheral and heard the sharp voice of his sister.

  
“You burnt them,” it was just above a whisper, yet it hit him as though she were screaming. The edge in her voice, he had heard it before. It was the same edge she had right before she made them official orphans.

  
“Lucille,” he pleaded.

  
“You burnt them,” came again, this time louder and the edge growing sharper.

  
“Yes, she will live. You’re not to touch her.” He was glad his voice held the facade of strength, because he truly didn’t feel that. He chose Edith. He chose to end the cycle. He could make his own choices. He just needed to keep reminding himself.

  
“You’re ordering me?” The vibrato of hysteria coated her voice. The glint in her eyes reflected that same hysteria. She stepped forward with the countenance of a wounded animal. The anxiety was evolving to panic and it began to smother that sliver of hope.

  
“We can leave, Lucille. Leave Allerdale Hall.” He pictured Edith, then. Did his best to emulate the strength he loved about her. Honesty was clear in his voice, it was his truest desire that they could all leave and find a way to come together. He loved Edith, but he still loved Lucille, too. While he no longer believed the love to ever truly be beyond familial, he still could not bring himself to hate her and held the love of a brother for his sister. She had raised him, kept him safe, and been his only companion for so long. How could he not keep some form of love for her?  
“Leave?” Her voice grew softer now and he watched the glint in her eyes begin to mutate into something even more sinister.

  
“Think about it. We could start a new life”

  
“Where?” He felt the panic begin to morph into something different at the sound of her voice.

  
“Anywhere. It doesn’t matter. We let the Sharpe name die with the mines. We let this edifice sink in the ground. All these years holding these walls together. We would be free. Free, Lucille. We can all be together.” He was frantic now. He began to lose what was left of his hope as she walked closer.

  
“All?” Thomas felt a chill run up his spine from her question. “Do you love her?” Her words dripped venom and he felt his body tense from the energy they carried.

  
“This day had to come. We’ve been dead for years, Lucille.” Thomas began to raise his hands in defense as she came even closer. He continued to repeat “choices” in his head to keep himself grounded. He couldn’t shut his eyes anymore.

  
“You promised...You and I in this rotting place. Do you love her more than me? Look at what we’ve become! You promised you wouldn’t fall in love with anyone else!” Her eyes were filled with tears, but her voice held nothing but hate. He moved his hands to her shoulders to try and offer some comfort.

  
“Yes, but it happened.” Then he felt the blade in his back, as a wrathful Lucille wrapped her arms around him. He staggered back and saw her aim for a second time. He made this choice. And even if he died, he was able to make this choice and try to save Edith. Try to break the malevolent cycle he and Lucille had been born into. He braced himself for another hit.

  
“NO!” The scream tore him from his thoughts and he watched as Edith pushed a small knife into Lucille’s back. Her eyes went wide as she turned from Thomas. He watched, in what felt like slow motion, as Edith drove the knife into her heart. The knife Lucille held in her hand clattered to the floor. He watched her fall forward.

  
“Enough,” he heard Edith whisper as she dropped her own knife to the ground. Thomas ran to her as she fell. He grabbed her and felt her golden hair surround them. He saw her look up toward him faintly, “I heard enough.”

  
Thomas held her close and checked her breathing. She was still alive. He held onto her as he moved closer to Lucille. His heart sunk and his stomach churned when he noticed she was still. No breathing came from her. Tears began to slide down his cheeks as he realized she was gone. She was gone, but Edith was alive. And with a heaviness, Thomas looked down to Edith and found her still breathing. He pulled her closer. He had made a choice and it had consequences, but he had made his own choice. He looked briefly at his sister one more time before lifting Edith in his arms. He made his way to the basement to get McMichael. He was making his next choice. He would save the love of his life. He would truly start again.


	2. I've already lost you once, what more could you do?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dead doesn't mean gone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, we're still going. Props to you if you can figure out what's going to happen with Lucielle

“Edith, please. Listen. McMichael is still alive. He’s still alive!”

“You lied to me!”

“I did.”

“You poisoned me!”

“I did.”

“You told me you loved me!”

“I do!”

The conversation continued to play on repeat in her head as she waited for Thomas to return. Despite everything, she still wanted to trust him. Under all the darkness and trauma, she saw the will to change and become a better man. She saw his desire to break the cycle and start anew. He had been trapped since childhood, but he finally had a chance. After all he had been through, she wanted him to have that chance. Especially, after realizing the ghosts in this house were more than just literal ghosts. 

Along with that, she still loved him. Like the many characters she wrote, Edith believed that Thomas could grow and become more of the man she saw at the depot; free from Lucille’s clutches. While she wanted to trust him, she was still hesitant, however a small hope existed within her that one day she could learn to trust him again. 

Edith was ripped from her thoughts by a rattling wheeze. The same crimson colored ghost floated eerily on the other side of the elevator. It stared directly at Edith before slowly and shakily raising its arm and pointing a knobby finger toward one of the hallways leading to Lucille’s room. It shrieked again before disappearing, but Edith had already started towards the room. Another warning, but one that she understood quickly. 

While she was thinking of moving toward a future slowly with Thomas, she had forgotten one very important factor. Thomas might be ready to break the cycle of abuse and let go of the past, but Lucille never would. It was simply all she had. She would never let Thomas go, in fact, she would kill him before she let him find happiness with anyone else. She hoped she wasn’t too late. She should have gone with him and not let him handle this alone. The ghost appeared in her way, blocking the hallway she would have used to head to Lucille’s room. That must not have been the right move. 

Instead, heeding yet another warning, she turned down a hallway that ran on the other side of the room. She had never been down this hallway, but it seemed to be one that remained unused now. Cobwebs and dust laid more heavily in this hall than in other parts of the house and the spiders clung heavily to this area. At the end of the hall she spotted a small door and she realized it must have been a servants door in the past. 

She moved as quickly as her broken leg and adrenaline would allow. She tried to keep her breathing quiet as she gently placed a hand on the door and turned the knob. There was a small click and Edith pushed the door softly. It inched open and revealed the back of Lucille’s room. Edith snuck in and looked around for something to use as a weapon immediately. On a dresser a few feet from her was a letter opener. Creeping low to the ground, Edith approached it silently, finally realizing she could hear the soft plea of Thomas’ voice. She grabbed the letter opener quickly and looked over the dresser. She found Thomas facing her with his attention on Lucille who had wrapped her arms around him and forced a blade into the back of his shoulder. Her body naturally launched itself toward the two. 

“NO!”

She barely registered the squelch of the knife entering Lucille’s back. She simply put as much force in, as possible. She felt Lucille let go of Thomas and watched him stager back. She wretched the knife out of Lucille. Edith watched as she turned toward her. Shock and hatred ignited and gleamed in Lucille’s eyes. Edith didn’t even think, but felt herself shove the knife forward again, this time, she noticed, it lodged itself into Lucille’s chest. Hatred and survival instinct moved Edith to turn the knife before pulling it back out. She heard the clatter of Lucille’s knife before she saw her fall to the ground. Relief washed over her. It had to be done. 

“Enough,” she whispered to the ghosts around her. She felt her knees give out, but before she could hit the ground Thomas’ arms were around her and he lowered both of them carefully to the ground. 

“I heard enough,” she said to him. She felt herself fading, but forced herself to look into his eyes. Her vision began to shift, but something strange tugged at the corners. She could barely see it as darkness seeped in, but it looked as though a small dark shadow surrounded Lucille’s body. 

The danger seemed to have passed and she felt her fatigue finally catch up to her as she moved out of fight mode. Her body urged her to give into sleep, but she struggled against it for a moment because a strange pressure had moved in to replace the original one she had felt when she first arrived at Allerdale Hall. She barely had time to think about this though, as she slipped out of consciousness. Warm arms pressed her tight and she slipped into the void. 

A black moth. An arm reaching. Drowning. A feeling of despair. 

She woke up with a scream, her eyes adjusting to the bright light situated above her. Pain moved in waves throughout her body as her vision came into focus. A warm hand gently cupped her shoulder and Edith looked to her right to find Thomas looking at her in deep concern. She noted the bandage on his face and wrapped beneath his undershirt. His hand moved up with the utmost care to cup her face. 

“I’ll fetch the doctor,” he said tenderly as his thumb ghosted over her cheek. She found the spot to be tender. 

Edith couldn’t bring her voice to work before Thomas was off like a shot. With great care, she turned her head to take in the small room. Three makeshift cots had been set-up; she laid in one, one was vacant, and the last contained Alan, who seemed to be comatose presently. She noticed his torso also wrapped in bandages. They all carried wounds of battle from the bloody and rotting corpse of that house and what dwelled within it. A sharp pain struck her cheek where Thomas had gently ran his thumb over. She tried to raise her arm to feel what was there, but the pain was too great and she groaned deeply.

Footsteps sounded nearby and Edith carefully moved her head again to see Thomas and who she assumed to be the doctor walking toward her. 

“Careful now, Mrs. Sharpe,” the doctor said in a soothing voice, as he leaned down and began to look her over. She felt strange at the mention of that name; unease mixed with something more pleasant. Something she couldn’t quite place. She took a sharp breath as he touched the setting around her leg and she was ripped from her own thoughts. 

“You’ve been through quite a bit, the lot of you, but you especially. I have no idea how you managed to move on this leg during all of that, but here you are. Now, you have a broken leg, some fractured ribs, some superficial cuts and bruises, and it seems you were being poisoned, as well. Luckily, there will be no permanent damage from that, but it will take you some time to recover completely and be at full strength. And then there’s that deep gash on your cheek, it’ll heal, but you will carry a scar for the rest of your life. Strange, your husband has the same wound…,” the doctor trailed off and walked over to check on Alan. Edith looked up at Thomas to find a long gash along his cheekbone, consequently where she felt pain in hers. She met his gaze and held it. Something was there that they both didn’t want to verbalize. 

“How…,” she began to whisper, but cut herself off and broke from Thomas’ stare as the doctor made a small sigh.

“Is Alan going to be okay?” Edith looked intently at the doctor as he continued to check over the other doctor.

“Oh he’ll be just fine. He’s lost a lot of blood, but he’ll recover. No vital organs were wounded. He might be out for a bit longer, though.” 

Some tension left her body, but the pain still lingered greatly and the doctor must have taken notice from her face. 

“I’m going to get you something for the pain. I’ll be back. You’re in good hands until then, he hasn’t left your side since you got here.” The doctor walked back out the door and Edith watched as Thomas, almost shyly, sat down in the chair beside her cot. He hesitantly took her hand and Edith didn’t resist. While she was still angry and hurt, Edith knew she didn’t want to resist. He had made a choice, a very hard one, and now she would make one, as well. It would take quite some time and a large amount of work, but it was what she wanted, regardless of her conflicting feelings at the moment. 

“I know we have a lot to talk about, but first I need to tell you something,” Thomas said to her quietly, but his eyes focused intensely on hers. “They didn't find Lucille’s body.”


	3. I face my fear of the sunrise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What could be happening back up at Crimson Peak?

He had waited at her side since they had reached safety. He barely let the doctor separate them for treatment, but eventually gave in after the doctor talked some sense into him.

As the doctor examined him, Thomas felt his mind wander from his body. He barely registered the questions being asked of him by both the doctor and, now, the police, as well. He felt his body give non-verbal replies and felt a small surge of relief when he realized McMichael had taken over in answering the questions. He detachedly watched them exchange words as his mind moved further from him. 

Edith had not yet woken up. She was all he had left. Had his choice been for not? Was he cursed to suffer for the rest of his life, alone? Was this how Lucille felt at the end? He felt his heart ache at the realization that she was gone, but he also felt...free.  It was an odd concoction of feelings: the loss of Lucille.

“Ah hem.”

Thomas jerked his head around at the sound of someone clearing their throat beside him. He pushed down his conflicting emotions about Lucille and how to grieve for later. He found the doctor back beside him and looking at him wearily. 

“She’ll be alright. She’s been through quite a lot from what you and Dr. McMichael have said. The police have left. It seems they got the information they needed from your friend and will be back to confirm the story with the young lady once she’s come around. We’ve set up cots for the three of you since the hospital is too far a journey for any of you to make. I’ll be back to check on the lot of you in the morning, but if something happens please come wake me. Get some rest.” The doctor left no time for a reply, but saw himself out of the makeshift ward quickly. 

Thomas finally took in the room and noticed Alan had been covered in bandages and was now asleep on one of the cots. In the cot between his and Alan’s laid Edith who was breathing peacefully, wrapped in more bandages than Alan. Thomas looked down and realized he too had his wounds dressed and assumed it had happened when his mind had drifted earlier. 

He hadn’t even realized that he had walked over to Edith’s cot and the small chair beside it. He sat down and fiddled with his hands in his lap for a second as he looked her over. It pained him to see her this way. Unconsciously, his hand drifted up to cup her cheek and he brushed his thumb over the cut there. He lifted his hand to his own face. A feeling of dread filled him as he thought back to how they both managed to gain similar scars. It still felt unreal to him, but they both carried wounds to prove it happened. 

As he and Alan did the best they could to drag Edith out of the house and toward Alan’s men heading their way, Thomas had heard a blood-curdling wail. When he looked over at Alan, the man made no sign that he had heard the sound. And then, there was flashing pain across his face. Thomas sucked in air and he and Alan stopped for a moment. Thomas used his free hand to inspect his face. He felt a small gash had appeared just under his eye. When he pulled his hand away, he found blood. He looked over at Alan who was looking at Edith’s face intently. There was a moment or two of complete silence before Alan looked up at Thomas confused and frightened. 

“When did she get this…? When did you…?” Alan gestured to a small gash along Edith’s face before he nodded his head toward Thomas’. They shared a fearful glance before Thomas could reply. 

“I don’t know, but we need to get out of here now.” Something was very off, whether it was something from the house or…something else, he didn’t know. With that, the two pushed themselves harder to meet the men at the gate. They did not dare speak past that and were quiet the rest of the way. 

He shivered at the memory and moved his hand to gently take Edith’s in his. His heart lurched when he felt her small fingers curl around his own. She continued to sleep on and Thomas etched the sight of her wounded and small into his memory. He would never allow anything like this to happen to her again. He would never allow anything to harm her going forward, including himself. He would grow stronger and he would keep her safe. He had to. She was the sun in his dark world. She had taught him there was always a choice and that you could set yourself free. He dropped his head to their clasped hands. 

“I’m so so sorry, Edith,” he mumbled into their hands as the tears started to spill. Thomas stayed like that as he finally began to grieve all that he had lost, but also brought himself to terms with, actually, having hope for the future. Eventually, the exhaustion set in and he slipped into sleep as the tears began to stop. 

Thomas woke up with a start as a scream pierced the silence. He jumped up out of instinct and looked around for any immediate danger. When he realized there wasn’t any he looked down to see Edith was the source of the sound. Her breathing was now ragged and tears trickled down her face. Carefully, he placed his hand on her shoulder to bring her attention to him. She looked up at him with strikingly sad eyes. His hand moved on its own to caress her face and brush a thumb over the scar on her cheek. 

“I’ll fetch the doctor,” he said softly. Fear bubbled up inside him as he worried about her well being, but also what she might say to him after all that happened. He moved quickly out of the room to find the doctor within the foreign home. After turning a few corners he found the man in the kitchen drinking a cup of coffee. 

“Edith is awake. I think she’s in pain.”

“I heard. That scream wasn’t one of physical pain, though. It sounded more like another kind of pain. Still, let’s go check.” Thomas watched the doctor calmly put down his cup and walk toward him. He placed his hand on Thomas’ shoulder for a second before continuing on. 

“She’s going to be fine.” Thomas watched him for a second and held onto the comforting words like a lifeline before following the doctor back to their room. 

“Oh, one more thing. The police wanted me to let you know that they swept the house best they could before the next storm hit, but they cannot find Lucille’s body.”

Thomas watched from a distance as the doctor looked over Edith and the two exchanged words. His mind was in a frantic panic. They didn’t find a body? What did that mean? Had she survived? Had she crawled to one of the many hidden parts of the house where none could find her as she licked her wounds and died alone? What did this mean for them? What would the police do? Would the nightmare ever end?

Thomas brought himself back out of his thoughts as Edith lifted her hand to her cheek and then looked toward him with a worried glance. He wanted to speak to her, tell her of what he saw, what he now knew, but her attention was drawn toward the doctor as he moved on to look at Alan. His thoughts were drawn back into the fear, guilt, relief, anger, and disgust that the information about Lucille had shot through him. 

The doctor drew him back into the room by placing a hand on his shoulder again. “I’m going to get you something for the pain. I’ll be back. You’re in good hands until then, he hasn’t left your side since you got here.” With that, the doctor had left them alone. 

Thomas slowly and hesitantly sat down next to Edith. He wanted nothing more than to be close to her right now, but didn’t exactly feel like he deserved that or if that was something she even wanted. He had to tell her what he just learned, though. She deserved that much. He timidly took her hand and found that small bubble of hope fill his heart again when she didn’t draw her own away or make any sign of disapproval. This gave him a bit more courage to share the news with her. He interlaced their fingers first before looking her directly in the eye. 

“I know we have a lot to talk about, but first I need to tell you something...they didn't find Lucille’s body.” He felt her squeeze his hands and her nails bite into his skin. Terror coated her expression and the two stayed silent for a moment before she loosened her grip. 

“I’m so sorry, Edith. I had no idea. I thought she was dead.” He held himself back from pulling her into his arms. To have her close more for his comfort than hers. He hadn’t earned that yet, though. He didn’t want to push past what was comfortable for her, either. More concerns and worries started to fill his head at that thought.

“It’s not your fault, Thomas. I thought she was dead, too and you were focused on getting us,” she looked over at Alan and back to him, “out of there safely. Which, I am very grateful for. I can’t say I’m surprised either.” She ran her thumb over the crescent nail marks she had dug into his hand. “We can’t do anything right now, but we’ll need to stay cautious until we are allowed out.”

“Edith.... I don’t deserve this kindness. It’s still partially my fault. I should have stopped this ages ago.”

“Yes, you should have, but that’s in the past and being there won’t help us right now.” Edith’s words were soft, but held a heavy weight. He deserved that. 

“And you will have to face that past, eventually and work to make things right, but we need to focus on the present, now. We won’t move forward if we linger on the past.” Thomas felt the hope grow a little more at the use of the word “we,” but he made sure to keep that to himself for now. 

“Of course, whatever I have to do.” He squeezed her hand in his as he looked her in the eye. He watched her scrunch her nose a bit and stare straight into him with the expression he knew meant she was thinking over something carefully. He watched some tension leave her posture as she slowly nodded at him. 

“Okay, we’ll talk about that later, but now we need to decide what to do about Lucille’s missing body. We also need to keep our stories straight to the police. So, what did you say to them?” She fixed him with a serious look. Thomas couldn’t believe this, she was asking his story. She was planning on protecting him? His heart warmed at this, but he also didn’t quite understand it. She must have seen the confusion work across his face and stated, “I think that while you did have a role in what happened to those women and me, that you weren’t completely compliant with Lucille’s plan. I think the violence was all her and you didn’t or couldn’t stand up to her because she is all you had. It was all you had known, from a very young age. I think you were that way with a lot of what happened between the two of you...” at that she broke their gaze and looked away. It tore Thomas apart to see her expression. He felt disgusted and ashamed, but he couldn’t deny what she said, so he nodded in agreement. 

“I only had her for so long. I never wanted to hurt her or say no because she had always protected and cared for me. After a while, I just kept my eyes shut because it was wrong and I didn’t want to be in that position, but I wouldn’t reject her. I couldn’t. And she knew that.” He tried to catch her eyes with his again. He would have given anything to look into her eyes at that moment. To know that she didn’t completely despise him. 

“To me, that sounds like someone that did what they had to survive. Who knows what she would have done if you said no or tried to leave? You were just as afraid and tormented by her, as any of her victims. You did, also, save Alan and me. It shows you weren’t as far gone as her. You wanted to change, to get out, to live a good life. You deserve that, but you will have to atone for what you did.”

“I know. I plan to. I swear to find a way to do that.” She finally met his eyes again and squeezed his hand. He could tell she still wanted to trust him and give him a chance to be the best man he could. He adored her for it and would be ever grateful to her. 

“Good. So, I’ll tell the police she forced you and that you were just as trapped as I was.”

“Yes...that best fits what Alan told them, as well…” His voice was low as he realized just what she was doing for him. 

“That sounds like him.” Thomas watched a small smile shape her lips and his heart skipped a beat to see her wistful for a moment. She returned to her serious look as she continued, “I will be honest with you, Thomas. I still love you, but I’m hurt and I can’t trust you right now. I want to, but I can’t. I don’t know how long that will take and I can’t promise I’ll still feel the same, but I’m willing to wait and see, as long as you put in the work. And you find a way to atone for what you’ve done and respect the women who lost their lives. That’s the only way you’ll ever find some semblance of peace.”

“Yes.” There was no hesitation in his voice at all and no longer was it soft, but strong. “I will do all of that. I know it will be hard and is more than I deserve, but I will do all I can, especially with you by my side.” She looked at him hard for a few moments before guiding his hand to cup her face. She leaned into it and closed her eyes. Thomas’ heart skipped another beat. The hope continued to grow and he felt warm and safe for a moment. He looked at her gently with pure admiration. “Of course.”

“Okay then.” She whispered and Thomas felt some of his fear ebb away. He only pulled his hand away when the doctor came back to give her pain medication and explain what it was and how it worked. He listened carefully, so he could help her in any way he could. He refused to leave her side and kept his hand in hers as she fell back to sleep. It was only when he was certain she was peacefully asleep that he allowed himself to lay back on his cot. As his mind continued to torment him, he couldn’t fall asleep until exhaustion took over. And even then, nightmares of his sister and their actions plagued him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What a journey we're on


End file.
